Transformations in Madison Square
Sarden as Throngs Hear Evangelist
Thif ti ; nn of four dupatrhei ,
fcv the relictna wntwr of th United I
Prn on Billy Graham's w oru
rrutad. Tofliv't tfupaUh takes you
to a typical Gruia meeting.
B7 LOUIS CASSELS
United Presc Correspondent
New York v At you turn
off Broadway onto West 49th
ft., you see the first sign that
something strange is happening
in the bie city.
A poster
nun in the
window of a
neon - lighted
bar urges you
to "attend the
Billy Graham
Crusade."
A block far
ther, the light
ed m a r q u ee
Louis Cassels of Madison
Square Carden comes into view
In the same bold letters that
have announced prize fights and
circuses, it proclaims:
Nightly at 7:30 . . . Billy Gra
hnm New York Crusade . . .
air conditioned ... ill scats
free."
It is not yet 7 p.m., but a
long line already stands outside
the main entrance. No ticket 's
needed to get in. Although some
lections are reserved for churcn
sponsored delegations, at least
half of the 18.500 seats are held
open each nifht for people who
just walk in.
S-uitle Transformations
As the well-mannered crowd
moves inside, you notice that
the Harden has undergone a few
subtle transformations. Strips of
cardboard cover the beer sings.
A Bible shop has been set up
in checkroom.
At the west end of the garden
is a bi platform, about 10 feet
bove the arena floor. Decorated
With potted plants, it is furnish
e4 with chairs, an electric organ
and a piano On a narrow prom
ontory extending from the front
of the platform, surrounded by
a wrought iron fence, is the ma
hogany pulpit.
From the front of the pulpit
to the first row of folding chairs
is a 30-foot space room for sev
eral hundred people to stand.
The rows of chairs are divided
by aisles. Some sections are
marked with signs reserved for
counselors, for ministers, for the
blind, for the deaf fto whom the
sermon is tranlated by an ex
pert in sign language.)
No one tells you not to smoke,
but you sense that it wouldn't
be appropriate. And as you look
around the fast-filling auditori
um, you notice there is remark
able unanimity on this conclu
sion. Throughout the two hours
you are in the garden, you will
not see a single match-flare in
the distant darkened balconies.
All Wait Expectantly
You also will listen in vain
for the coughing, whispering,
throat-clearing and chair scrap
ing that usually go with a big
crowd. These people have come
to witness, or perhaps to ex
perience, religious conversion,
and they are waiting . . . some
reverently, some curiously, all
quietly and expectantly.
There is a paper-bound "cru
sade hymnal" on your seat, and
promptly at 7:30 choir director
Clif Barrows tells you to turn
to page 38. The choir 800 wom
en in white blouses, 700 men in
white shirts swells out in the
familiar words of "Blessed As
surance." Barrows gently coaxes
you to join in . . . "There's A
Blessing If You Sing ..." and
soon the whole crowd is sing
ing. Two more hyms ... prayer
by a local minister ... a vocal
solo by George Beverly Shea
. . . the Scriptures is read by an
English clergyman . . . the of
fering is taken up in cardboard
ice buckets. So far the service
has been except for the sheer
size of choir and congregation
; just what you'd find in any Bap
tist church on Sunday morning.
You have been waiting for
Graham to make a dramatic
entrance. But now you spot him
'sitting there on the platform,
i taking part in the preliminaries
i like everyone else. At 8:10 p.m.
without fanfare or introduction,
He gets up and walks quietly
to the pulpit.
Portable Microphone
He i3, as advertised, a hand
some man, with hawklike fea
tures and wavy blond hair that
makes him look younger than
his 38 years. His suit is well
tailored, perfectly pressed.
He holds a limp-backed Bible
in his left hand and from it he
reads his text in a lound, clear
voice that never reaches a shout.
A portable microphone hidden
in his tie clasp carries his voice
to the loudspeaker system.
i He moves back and forth
across the platform as he talks.
He gestures frequently and viv
I idly . . . you count 23 different
I hand movements in the space of
one minute.
Many people, including Gra
ham, have observed that he is
not an especially eloquent
preacher. His prose is lucid,
grammatically correct, but rare
ly distinguished by an elegant
turn of phrase. Neither his voice
nor his manner could be descrio
ed as spellbinding yet he com
mands the attention of an aud
ience as few preachers are able
to do.
You have been told it is his
"sincerity" that impresses you.
But you sot n realize this is too
pale a term. What comes through
as you listen to Billy Graham
in the hushed stillness of Madi
son Square Garden is not merely
sincerity, but passionate, con
tagious conviction.
Tone of Urgency
He does not strive for emo
tionalism through calculated ef
fect ... he seems to bend over
backwards to avoid that charge
which was laid at the door of
so many earlier evangeslists. But
there is a tone of urgency to
his message, an emphasis on the
eternal and ultimate importance
of "the decision you will reach
here tonight," which must have
a powerful emotional impact on
any but the most confident Chris
tain ... or the most impregnable
agnostic.
The message, tonight is al
ways, is the Christian plan of
salvation, as Graham reads it in
his Bible . . . anadorned or un
diluted by the insights of mod
ern theology.
"We are all sinners," he de
clares again and again. Abund
antly documenting this fact are
examples of the pride, lust, self
ishness, greed and worldliness
which infect the lives of all
men . . . even the pious . . . "in
cluding the speaker."
And "the wages of sin s
death." Graham does not invoke
the image of everlasting fire,
but neither docs he pass lightly
over the doctrine of final judg
ment and the "sentence of eter
nal death" which awaits the un
repentant sinner.
It is only when the dark alter
native has been painted that
Graham proclaims the "good
news" of the gospel.
'He Bore Our Sins'
God has sent his Son, Jesus
Christ, to redeem mankind from
its self-condemnnation, Graham
intones. When Jesus died on the
cross, "in a mysterious and glor
ious way that theologians can ex
plain, he bore our sins." If wo
will accept his sacrifice on our
behalf, will "receive him" into
our hearts as Lord and Master,
we will "pass from death into
life" ... an eternal life of pow
er and peace and joy."
Now the evanglist is inviting
you to make your "decision for
Christ" tonight . . . now "before
you leave this building."
"I am going to ask you to get
our of your seat and come quiet
ly down here ta the front ... as
an indication of your decision,"
the words pour out. "Just get up
and come quietly . . . come now."
The choir begins to sing softly
It is the old revivial hymn, "Just
As I Am, Without One Plea." For
an excruciatingly long minute, it
seems that this time, no one
is coming forward.
Too Many To Count
Then a -teen-age boy walks for
ward, sobbing quietly. An elder
ly man with gleaming bald head
comes from the side. There is a
smartly dressed woman in a
mink stole . . . and a platium
blonde who could be a show
girl ... a tough-looking kid in
a leather jacket and ducktail
haircut ... a boy and girl hold
ing hands . . . now they are
coming by fives and tens . . . too
many to count. . .
A few have tears on their
cheeks ... A few are smiling
nervously . . . most of them are
salemn, quiet, their heads bow
ed. They seem to represent every
age, sex and race . . . every
economic bracket.
You may still have reserva
tions about why they are there
. . . or whether their "conver
sion" will last. But they plainly
evident fact is that they arc
there, hundreds of them, and so
far as anyone can judge by out
ward appearance, they are ut
terly sincere.
It is a deeply moving sight.
Tmorrow: Is Bill Graham's
crusade a success?
'BAGGED' AN ELK
East Rutherford, N.J. W
Mrs. Jerome Harris reported to
police that someone had stolen
a bag of laundry from her back
porch. Officers learned that a
volunteer from the Lyndhurst
Elks Lodge had mistaken Mrs.
Harris' home for another and
picked tip her laundry as a
clothing drive donation.
Wednesday, June 12, 1957
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE SEVEN
Service Center at
Blind School Opens
Portland IP) A S200.000
service center and industrial
school for blind persons was ded
icated here Tuesday night.
Named the Ella Munro Burdin
Memorial Center for the Blind,
the modern structure was built
mainly with funds bequeathed in
1947 for the needy blind by Mrs.
Burdin.
The center provides space for
meetings and offices for the com
mission for the blind, as well as
shop space for industries con
ducted by the commission. No
tax money was used in the con
struction. Mayor Terry Schrunk, in a
welcoming address, said "This
building is going to help some
of our citizens to help them
selves. None of us want charity.
All we want is the opptunity to
do something constructive."
City-County Structure
Visioned in Portland
Portland IP City planning
director Lloyd Keefe advised the
city council here to buy a down
town business block between the
city hall and the Multnomah
county courthouse yesterday, en
visioning a new city- county
structure connected by tunnels.
Keefe estimated a half-block
initial purchase would cost about
S200.000. Two Portland city
councilmen, William A. Bowes
and Ormond R. Bean, said they
heartily approved Kcefe's idea.
They added however, they would
not approve the construction of
a temporary building to relieve
city hall space shortages.
Earthquakes Rock
North, Central Luzon
Manila IP Earthquakes
ranging from feeble to strong
rocked Northern and Central Lu
zon Island for several seconds
today.
The Department of Volcano!
ogy here said the quakes were
tectonic (slipping of a fault in
the earth's crust) and that the
epicenter was some 220 muc
northwest of Manila.
No damage to property was re
ported immediately, but experts
expected damage to poorly con
structed buildings to be reported
later today.
Use Mall Tribune Want A&K
The Community BieeeM Him hntoe
Portland Rabbi Speaks
At Southern Oregon
Ashland Rabbi Joshua
Stampfer, of Congregation Ah
avai Sholom in Portland address
ed students and faculty members
at Southern Oregon college at a
summer assembly today. Rabbi
Stampfer also delivered several
class lectures at the college.
The rabbi lectures on college
campuses under the auspices of
an organization disseminating in
an organization disseminatnig in
formation concerning Judaism as
part of an educational program.
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